On April 23, 2003, Old Glory BBQ will be hosting the first in a series of “Men of Bourbon” dinners. This first dinner will have as its guest of honor Jimmy Russelll, Master Distiller of Wild Turkey. The evening will begin with a short introductory class on the finer points of Bourbon Distilling, follow with a five course dinner, and finish with cigars and Wild Turkey (hopefully, if weather permits, on our Outdoor Patio). Jimmy, who has been in the Bourbon business, and specifically the Wild Turkey business for the better part of fifty years, will give us some insight into how and why Wild Turkey has survived the years, and why Wild Turkey is the Bourbon for you. Be sure to check out the feature on Jimmy in our “Whiskey Man” profile in this issue. Tickets will go on sale shortly, and, because of limited space, be sure to get yours early. We hope to See You there!

This Year, we kept the Big Screen TV from the SuperBowl, and we’ll have it through the end of March Madness. That’s right, we will be showing all 65 NCAA tournament games, as well as Conference Tourney games on the 55" HDTV. Come in at any time there is a game going and watch it here. All Terps Games During the ACC and NCAA Tournament will be On the Big Screen with full sound, so come early and stay late. The ACC Tournament starts on March 13, and lasts through the 16th. The NCAA Tournament starts with the Play-in game on March 19th, and the First Official game is March 20th. Be sure to be here to catch all the action.

Did you know that there is another Old Glory? Contrary to popular belief, there is another restaurant dedicated to the good ole red, white, and blue. It’s out in Centerville, Va. They have two of our best people, in Mark Arnold Josh Omin, straight from their years of experience in Georgetown, along with executive chef Josh Jeffress and Sous Chef Jeff Skrzycki, who are seeing this new adventure through its first year. To answer your first question, “Of course, they have a Bourbon club”. To answer your second questions, “ No, you can’t drink there and have it count for your Bourbon club in Georgetown.” Anyway, go see them at : 6208 Multiplex Drive, Centerville, Virginia, 20121. Phone for Reservations:703-266-4066. Tell them Dan Sent you!

Jimmy is one of the most respected Southern Gentlemen in the Bourbon business. He was taught his craft from Bill Hughes, Master Distiller, and Ernest Ripy, Jr., one of the founding families of this great American spirit. Jimmy is so dedicated that he actually keeps the Wild Turkey yeast strain in three different places, one of them obviously at the distillery, one of them at home, and one of them in a different county, just in case there is a power outage (the yeast is preserved by refrigeration). Jimmy is currently the Director of the Kentucky Distillers Association and the Distiller’s Feed Council. The State of Kentucky recently honored Jimmy with a Proclamation of his dedication and service in promoting Kentucky, Bourbon, and Wild Turkey, not in that order. Malt Advocate Magazine celebrates Whiskyfest annually, and in 2002, Jimmy Russelll was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the Distilling community. Jimmy has been an active part of the Wild Turkey Distillery since 1954. He was one of the last remaining working Master Distillers of his Generation (Which includes Booker Noe of Jim Beam, and Bill Samuels, Jr. of Maker’s Mark).

Jimmy has never compromised the quality of his Bourbon. He distills at the lowest proof allowable to retain more flavors. He has never chill filtered Wild Turkey, because he believes it strips the whisky of flavor. He also goes to the added expense of cork finishing his bottles. He excavated the basement of the warehouses (where Bourbon is aged) to allow proper airflow circulation around the barrels on the ground floor to improve aging quality. He even leaves space on the ricks to allow the barrels to have the proper air exposure. The grains used are hand selected and are above the standards the government has set forth, and he even has the cooperage break down two barrels a day to ensure their consistency, and that they are air dried, which is a lengthy and time consuming practice that is a little more expensive, but does the Bourbon right. Jimmy is now grooming his son Eddie to take over the Tradition that is Wild Turkey, and he will be the fifth generation involved in the whiskey making business in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky.

I was invited to travel to Wild Turkey’s Distillery last spring for a Bourbon weekend. There were tours, events, debauchery, and an all around great time courtesy of Wild Turkey. We also helped them create new cocktails and drinks, and were involved in market research for new products. It was there that I gained my respect for Jimmy Russelll and his products. All the people in Kentucky were the nicest, kindest people I had ever met, and I felt, through the Bourbon Club, extraordinarily proud to be part of the same small family of Bourbon Lovers, as all of you are. Jimmy, Greg (the President of Wild Turkey) and all of the other people in Lawrenceburg, and especially Wild Turkey, were extraordinarily kind and generous to us. They pretty much made sure we wanted for nothing the whole weekend. If you hang out at Old Glory enough, eventually you will see Jimmy stroll through the door, Turkey pin on his lapel, smile on his face, and story in his head. He’ll have a couple of Russelll’s Reserves, pass out some wisdom, and then head out into the night, completely unaware of all the people he touched while he was here. We all salute you Jimmy, raise our glasses, and wish you another fifty years in the Bourbon Business. Dan Meyer

The first step In judging a Bourbon, before you sip or smell, is to look at it. Does it have a nice, dark, amber color? This tells you that the Bourbon has been aged properly. However, the Bourbon should never be so dark that it loses clarity. The next thing to look for is the “nose”, or the smell of the Bourbon. You should pick up a distinct caramel aroma, picked up from the toasted sugars in the barrel in which the Bourbon was aged. You should also catch hints of vanilla — a sweet scent like cotton candy. Then the third, and most important, the taste. If you’re serious about tasting Bourbon (and we all are) and are tasting several (or 80), you’ll want to remember not to swallow each time (yeah, right, like that is going to happen). To fully experience the taste of a Bourbon, take a small sip, swirl it around in your mouth and let it caress your taste buds for a few seconds. Pay attention to the hints of sweetness and vanilla, which should be present in a good Bourbon. Finally, it is time to ingest the Bourbon. The last thing you should experience is the aftertaste. You should pick up something like allspice; a nut or a fruit flavor; perhaps a suggestion of peaches and pears. There should not be any burnt taste, this suggests that the Bourbon was aged improperly.

Article courtesy: Kentuckyconnect.com.

Banana Black Currant Burnt Sugar Caramel Cereal-y Cherry Cinnamon Clover Earth Grains Grassy Hazelnut

Honey Leather Lemon Maple Syrup Mint Must New-Mown Grass New-Mown Hay Nutmeg Oak Peach

Perfume Plum Smoky Smoldering Wood Sooty Tar Tobacco Vanilla Violet Walnut Wood

Now, you may ask why all these distinct flavors?? Its because Bourbon adopts the characteristics of the soil, the air, and the wood. All these add to the flavor of Bourbon.

Since this is the first Newsletter, I am going to include the people whose plaques have just been ordered. For those of you who have finished recently, and aren’t on this list, please call Dan at 202-337-3406.

The New Members are as follows:

Congratulations to all new members, and, hopefully, we will have a few more next newsletter.

If you have finished the bourbon club and your plaque is not up and your name does not appear on this list, please call Dan @202-337-3406.

Old Glory BBQ
3139 M ST. NW
Washington DC 20007
Phone:202-337-3406
Fax: 202-342-1819
Email: ogl@capitalrestaurants.com